Turkish Sausage in Tomato Sauce / Domatesli Sucuk

Writer's Note:  Breakfast sucuk, a dry spicy beef sausage, is a time-honored Turkish tradition.  Fried in butter, grilled on the bbq, braised in tomatoes, and even cooked on a spit over an open flame, it is one of the heartiest breakfast treats.  I am particularly fond of sucuk browned in a skillet and then cooked with tomatoes, red peppers, jalapenos, and a little butter.  If you can't find sucuk at your local Turkish grocer, you can order my favorite brand on-line at tulumba.com.

Ingredients:

 1/2 lb. of sucuk, unwrapped, and cut into 1/2 inch half-moons
1 red pepper, cored, and cut into thick 2 inch strips
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes, tomatoes cut into 3-4 pieces
1 jalapeno, cored, and diced
2-3 tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions:

Brown sucuk in dry skillet over medium-high heat until slightly browned on both sides -- it will release its own cooking oil after a few minutes.  Add tomatoes, half of the tomato juice from the can, and the peppers and cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and the peppers are a little soft.  Add the butter and cook until hot and bubbling.  Soujuk is best served hot straight out of the skillet with fresh crusty bread.  Make sure you plan a 5-K run for later in the day.

Hot Turkish Breakfast Skillet / Sıcak Kahvaltı Tavası

Writer's Note: A twist on the classic Turkish breakfast of potatoes and eggs -- I've incorporated traditional Turkish flavors including feta, mint, and sucuk, the ubiqutious Turkish sausage, into a simple single skillet breakfast feast for your brunch party.  Serves 4. 

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp. olive oil, split
6 eggs
splash of milk
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
Handful of fresh mint, basil, and/or Thai basil, chopped
5-6 stalks asparagus, cut into two inch pieces
5-6 large sundried tomatoes
3-4 oz. good quality feta cheese
1 jalepeno, seeded, minced
3 inches of Turkish sujuk sausage, sliced thin and cut into half moons
Handful of grated kasar peynir (Turkish medium hard cheese) or mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the broiler to High.  Locate a large skillet that can be placed under the broiler. 

Saute the potatoes in half of the olive oil in a small skillet until cooked through.  In the large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the asparagus until just cooked through.  Add the sundried tomatoes, jalapeno and sucuk and saute until the sucuk is sizzling and the tomatoes are a touch browned. 

Add the cooked potatoes to the large skillet.  Season with salt and pepper.  Whisk the eggs with a splash of milk until frothy.  Turn the heat to medium low and add the eggs quickly followed by the feta and fresh herbs on top.  Push the eggs apart to allow the raw eggs to reach the bottom of the skillet.  Cook for 4-5 minutes until the bottom is set. 

Sprinkle the handful of grated cheese on top and place under the broil.  Broil for 5-7 minutes until the top is browned.  Check the eggs by cutting into the mixture to make sure it is cooked through.  Serve with hot crusty bread and fresh fruit.

Potatoes with Scrambled Eggs / Yumurtalı Patates

Writer's Note: My mother made this dish for us on Sunday mornings. It was certainly a family favorite. Clearly not only my family's favorite because there are several Turkish Facebook pages devoted to the dish.  Facebook has gotten out of hand. I'm happy to be a fan of a band or writer, but a breakfast dish? People have way too much time to dither around. Soon they'll be fans of the avatars of their favorite breakfast dishes.

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 

3-5 medium-sized young potatoes, red or white, boiled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes (peeled or not, your choice)

4 eggs

4 tbsp. milk

salt and pepper to taste

Optional:

1 cup yogurt

2-3 garlic cloves

1/4 tsp. salt
Aleppo pepper and dried mint

Directions:

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan.  When hot, put in the potatoes and allow them to brown a little, only stirring occasionally.

In the interim, while the potatoes are cooking, whisk the eggs with the milk and salt until they are well combined and frothy. Once the potatoes are cooked, pour the eggs into the frying pan and allow them to sit for at least 30 seconds.  In order to get large curds of fluffy eggs, slowly scrape swaths of egg across the pan once every 20-30 seconds, without stirring the eggs.  When they are just set, turn off the heat under the pan.  Serve with fresh ground pepper.

Optional: If you want to top with garlic yogurt, mash the garlic with the salt in a mortar and pestle and then combine with the yogurt. Sprinkle mint and Aleppo pepper on top if you like.

*For this dish I would use a red or yellow-skinned potato, not a russet potato. The potato will have a cleaner, lighter taste that will balance well with the eggs. But if russet is all you have, by all means, you can use those too.

Zucchini Pie / Fırında Mücver

Writer's Note: Hello men, see that spread? That's the way ladies brunch when you aren't around. A few weeks ago I was invited to ladies' brunch with a group of amazing women -- lawyers, development specialists, human rights activists. They were candy for my brain. And the food was phenomenal. Sorry, boys, we were perfectly content without you.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 tbsp. cottage cheese

2-4 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

500 grams feta cheese

1 large red onion, diced

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 zucchinis, grated on coarse grater, salted and drained after 20 minutes

1-3 tsp. Urfa or Aleppo pepper

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. dried mint

3/4 cup flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook red onion in olive oil until soft and translucent. Squeeze the water out of the grated zucchini with your hands so they are as dry as possible. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Grease a small square pyrex dish with olive oil or butter. Pour ingredients in dish and bake for 25-35 minutes until it is firm and a toothpick comes out clean.

Baked Broccoli Pie / Fırında Brokoli Mücver

Writer's Note: The broccoli in the fridge was mocking me. Hello, yes, I am still here. And I will be here for the rest of eternity if you don't think of something to do with me. Seriously, it's bad when your produce can make you feel guilty. So here's a fun brunch dish to help you escape its judgmental stare.

Ingredients:

12 oz. broccoli florets, cut small

5 oz feta, crumbled

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 tbsp. full-fat traditional thick yogurt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried mint

1/2 tsp. Aleppo pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a small square pyrex baking dish.

If you like, you can blanch or steam the broccoli for a minute or two to soften it, but it is likely unnecessary. Saute the onion with the olive oil over low-medium heat until the onions are soft and have taken on the hue of the olive oil.

Mix all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and then pour into the pre-greased baking dish.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the top is slightly browned. Cool on the counter before cutting into serving pieces -- careful, the pie is very soft.

Serve warm.